2 US military grade launching gear found at Mundra port, suspected of smuggling military equipment

New Delhi: Two military grade launching gear made in the US have been found at Gujarat's Mundra port. Both these equipment weighing around 11 thousand kg were kept in empty containers. Authorities recovered the containers on December 20 during an investigation. They are used when flying a fighter aircraft from an aircraft carrier. Authorities have suspected this to be a case of smuggling of military equipment.

Military sources said that only two companies in the world manufacture such devices. They are manufactured at Boeing in the US and at Airbus Company in Europe. Both the devices recovered in Mundra remain in the US.

Both equipment were shipped from New York on November 8

A senior official of the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Customs said - Both launching gear were shipped from New York port from 8 November. They were booked by DHL Global Forwarding Company of America. They were informed of being sent to the Royal Saudi Land Forces. The shipment was written as the address for delivery - Prince Sultan Road, HWY 156 Jijan Saudi Arabia. In such a situation, 10790.90 kg heavy how these devices reach India, it is necessary to investigate.

No information on how the equipment reached India

These devices were carrying a ship named 'Kyoto Express' of the company 'Hapag-Lloyd Aktinegelshaft', but there was no information about landing it at Jeddah port. The ship anchored at 5 ports including Pakistan's Karachi before reaching India. When the ship reached Mundra, the officials found them placed in containers labeled 'empty'. Officials said that in the initial investigation it seems to be a case of smuggling of military equipment, but only after a detailed investigation, the situation will be cleared.

DRDO shipments have also vanished

Defense sources said that there were some cases earlier when the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) had ordered spare parts or machines from the US, but the shipments disappeared along the way. And they never got to know about them.